Arizona Apprenticeship Council

Authority:

Established in 1941 by Laws 1941, Chapter 82 and amended by Laws 1945, Chapter 53.
See Arizona Commerce Authority, A.R.S. § 41-1504, subsection C, paragraph 6.

Function:

Promote adoption of voluntary apprenticeship programs by employers and employees.  Agreements between an employer and an apprentice must be approved by the Council.   As defined in the law, an apprentice is defined as “a person at least sixteen years of age who has entered into a written agreement with an employer or his agent” which provides for a set number of employment hours and on-the-job training.

According to the Department of Economic Security (DES) 1974 report, “The Arizona Apprenticeship Council was created to establish basic policies for governing apprenticeship training in Arizona and to implement federal legislation and requirements regarding labor standards to safeguard the welfare of apprentices employed in industry and promote standards of apprenticeship.”

History:

The Council was first created in 1941, amended in 1945 and subsequently folded into DES in 1973 when that agency was established by Laws 1972, Chapter 142.  (See sections 2, and 23 through 28).  In 2000, the Apprenticeship Council was transferred from the Department of Economic Security to the Arizona Department of Commerce (Laws 2000, Chapter 51).  Laws 2011, Second Special Session, Chapter 1 created the Arizona Commerce Authority to replace the Arizona Department of Commerce.  Laws 2012, Chapter 170 contains the conforming amendments required by the 2011 legislation.

The Arizona Apprenticeship Division is defined in the 2011 Apprenticeship Coordinator Manual as “the office designated by the Director of the Arizona Commerce Authority to act as the Registration Agency responsible for staffing the day-to-day operation of Arizona’s Apprenticeship Program.”

The Arizona Apprenticeship System consists of the Governor’s Council on Workforce Policy, Arizona Apprenticeship Advisory Committee, which acts as the State Apprenticeship Council; the Arizona Commerce Authority, Office of Workforce Development; and the Arizona Commerce Authority Apprenticeship Division, the designated agency to register and administer Arizona’s Apprenticeship Program.

Sources:

• Annual Report 1966/7
• DES Report, 1974,  call number ESD 28.2A66
• www.azdes.gov